Although they established themselves equally adept at live action with 21 Jump Street, writers/directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller truly seem at their peak when they are working within animation — especially with their latest, The Lego Movie.
And though they have yet to make a misstep in their careers — which have brought us Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and the TV series Clone High — they also still haven’t quite made their own great film. With their third feature film, The Lego Movie, they have finally turned things around for the better. With a seemingly endless stride of humor, imagination, heart and passion, Lord and Miller’s newest effort is not only the first great movie on their resume, it’s the first great movie of 2014.
The film centers on Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt), a rather plain construction builder who, by accident, discovers the Piece of Resistance, a long-lost archive that is said to bring peace and order back to the world. But once the piece gets — quite literally — stuck to Emmet, he is forced to fight forces with Lord Business (voiced by Will Ferrell), an evil tyrant who desires the powers the Piece holds. Through the help of Wyldstyle (voiced by Elizabeth Banks), Vitruvius (voiced by Morgan Freeman) and some others, he will live out his prophecy of being the MasterBuilder.
What makes The Lego Movie so good is that it lives up to its infinite potential. Lord and Miller have a lot of toys that they can play with (literally) and they, thankfully, make great use of them. Legos like Batman, Superman, Green Lantern and other surprises make their way into the film in satisfying and engaging ways, and offer even more potential for what can be done in the inevitable sequels to come.
On that note, though based mainly on already-established properties, the world building found within the film is equally impressive. There is a grandness to this film that other films often try to find, but very few are actually able to accomplish.
Also, thanks to their script (which is genuinely one of the most clever and witty scripts that I have seen in the past couple years), the film is able to explore the grand potential that not only the characters have, but also the different lands bring.
What truly makes The Lego Movie special, though, is its underlying heart.
Beyond the buoyant energy and infectious charm that Lord and Miller bring to all their properties thus far, there is also a great deal of profound and — dare I say it — thought-provoking commentary the film brings in an unexpected third act twist. I doubt many unspoiled audience members are going to expect just how deep this film’s themes are about childhood, dreams and human potential.
Without giving anything away, I’ll just say that is the point of the movie where it truly becomes a wonderful film.
Pratt also brings a lot of heart and energy into his performance and helps drive home the film’s heartstrings as the film progresses. Also doing some impressive work here is Ferrell, who’s given one of his funniest new characters in some time, while also….well, I actually won’t go further than that for now.
But undoubtedly, the best aspect of The Lego Movie is its animation, which is honestly some of the best I have ever seen. Through its stop-motion-inspired style (the film is made primarily in CGI, but there are some stop motion segments inside), the film is able to make some genuinely hilarious visual gags and references. I’m sure there are at least 10 that I missed on my first viewing, and won’t even catch until my second or third viewing, if then (not that I am complaining about seeing this movie again). The film also actually makes some pretty good use of its 3-D, and is worth throwing out a few extra dollars to check it out.
But for its joke-a-minute style, there are at least 10 or so jokes throughout that just fall flat. That is to be expected, and, thankfully, there are more than enough jokes throughout to make up for any that don’t work.
The Lego Movie is also one of those few movies that, yes, kids and adults are going to enjoy equally. It’s truthfully one of the most entertaining movies I have seen in the past couple months, and maybe seen this year, no matter what the rating is.
Now if only I could get “Everything is Awesome” out of my head.
Will Ashton is a junior studying journalism and a writer for The Post. Chat film with him at wa054010@ohiou.edu.
